Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

Of course, not all the battles were that bloody and intense.

Nearby, an extremely calm and peaceful duel had begun between Ye Yongxing of the Celestial Pivot Pavilion and Li Guanlong of the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals.

Ye Yongxing gave a slight bow in greeting, and Li Guanlong responded with a nod.

Their gazes met, and upon seeing the light in the other person's eyes, they immediately recognized the other person's mystical ability.

Ye Yongxing had the Netherworld Eye, which he had developed while in his mother's womb, and Li Guanlong had the expired Curse Insect of Dreams that he had swallowed[1]. It was a clash of two total opposites.

"I suppress you instantly with my Talisman of Life Destruction. You struggle to counter it," Ye Yongxing said, his eyes glowing with a concentrated divine light.

Despite what he said, he made no movements.

Seemingly in acceptance of the scenario Ye Yongxing depicted, Li Guanlong spent a moment in silence. Then his eyes lit up as well. "Using my illusory technique, I disguise my real self and let you attack my fake self. While you're distracted by the decoy, I draw you into a dream."

Light flickered in their eyes, as if the scenarios they described were already unfolding before them.

Ye Yongxing furrowed his brows slightly. "I have been drawn into your dream, but I perceive the secrets of heaven within the dream and am able to take control of it."

"Oh, no," Li Guanlong uttered softly and took two steps back. He fell silent for a moment and then said, "You may be able to fight for the control of the dream from me, but my cultivation level is higher than yours. And even if we were of the same cultivation level, you would still be no match for the secret techniques of my sect.

"I use the Heavenly Grand Formation of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams to surround and destroy you. You have no way of escaping."

Ye Yongxing replied calmly, "I, too, am skilled in enchanted formations. The three enchanted formations of the Seven Killings Star, Ruinous Star, and Greedy Wolf Star can instantly break your Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation."

Li Guanlong quickly countered, "But you have fallen into my trap. With the Curse Insect of Dreams's support, I can replenish my qi, blood, and true essence within the dream. The longer you linger in the dream, the more your qi, blood, and true essence will be drained. If you do not concede your loss, your divine sense will be severely damaged."

Ye Yongxing pondered for a moment. "The only way I could break the dream is with overwhelming cultivation power, but my cultivation power is inadequate for that. It seems that there is no way for me to break the dream."

Li Guanlong wore a small smile. "So, you're letting me win."

A while later, the divine light in Ye Yongxing's eyes finally dimmed. He shook his head sadly. "In the end, this is as far as I can go."

"Victory and defeat are common in battle. There is no need to dwell on it, Brother Ye."

The two young men had decided on the outcome after merely speaking for a short while. This left the spectators utterly bewildered.

What was that all about?

Were the two of you fighting with civility and decorum?

If all it took was words to win, then wouldn't you be invincible if you brought in that old storyteller who tells erotic stories?

Is this really not a case of collusion for mutual benefit? I suggest that those two be thoroughly investigated for match-fixing.

…

"Jiang Yuebai of the Mount Shu Sect has defeated… Tie Chui of the South Melody Conservatory!"

Earlier, while those two young men were in a battle of wits, two young women were locked in a fierce and violent battle.

Tie Chui swung her two golden mallets with great force, producing fierce, whistling winds. For a moment, it seemed as though Jiang Yuebai was in grave danger. However, she had intentionally delayed taking action. She spotted an opening in Tie Chui's defenses and quickly subdued her.

Tie Chui was not weak, but she was still a notch weaker than Jiang Yuebai. The battle between Jiang Yuebai and Tie Chui paled in comparison to Jiang Yuebai's previous battle against Xi Miaoxian, where Jiang Yuebai had displayed much greater power.

Two of the three opponents Jiang Yuebai had faced so far had been women.

In the second round, Jiang Yuebai faced Xi Miaoxian of the Penglai Supreme Sect. Both women were contenders for the title of the Number One Beauty of their generation. Nevertheless, neither of them were simply beautiful young women; they both exhibited astonishing power in the duel.

Xi Miaoxian was proficient in the Penglai Supreme Sect's stealth traversal arts, making her movements unpredictable. However, that would not have been enough to earn her a spot in the team representing the Penglai Supreme Sect in this Assembly of Immortal Sects. After all, there was an abundance of talented disciples within the Penglai Supreme Sect, and many of them were just as good as her in stealth traversal arts.

The reason Xi Miaoxian was able to rise above them was the Talisman of Life Destruction that she had obtained in the Celestial Talisman Master's Hidden Realm. Coupled with her unpredictable arsenal of stealth traversal arts, her offensive capabilities were drastically enhanced, eliminating her weakness of lacking attack power. In fact, Xi Miaoxian was able to use the Talisman of Life Destruction even more effectively than Ye Yongxing.

Unfortunately for Xi Miaoxian, Jiang Yuebai was just as adept in stealth traversal arts and far surpassed her in other immortal arts. No matter how many times they fought, Jiang Yuebai would always emerge victorious. Perhaps this gap in power was simply the difference between those that had a Transcendent Spirit and those that didn’t.

After defeating Tie Chui, Jiang Yuebai entered the next corridor. Moments later, she saw Xu Ziyang enter, covered in blood.

Xu Ziyang's path had been arduous. It began with a fight against Xu Hu of the Sword Sect, followed by victories over Luo Yao of the Valley of the Three Absolutes and Feng Chaoyang of the Celestial King Sect.

He had fought his way there through fierce battles and was covered in wounds, yet his eyes gleamed brightly like a sharp sword. His fighting spirit was indomitable.

By this point, the top five contenders had been decided. Chu Liang, who had earned a bye, had been the first to advance. He was followed by Yang Shenlong of the Penglai Supreme Sect, Li Guanlong of the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals, and the Mount Shu Sect's Jiang Yuebai and Xu Ziyang.

The Mount Shu Sect claimed three of the top five spots! Without a doubt, this generation of disciples was the strongest the Mount Shu Sect had produced in the past sixty years!

Now that Xu Ziyang had gotten matched with Jiang Yuebai, it seemed like this should be the end point of his mission.

Normally, when two disciples from the same sect got matched up, one of them would concede defeat to allow the other disciple to avoid an unnecessary battle and instead conserve their energy for the next one. This wasn't considered cheating; this was a legitimate advantage of having multiple disciples successfully advance to the later rounds.

In this case, Jiang Yuebai was the Mount Shu Sect's head disciple and in peak condition, while Xu Ziyang was covered in blood and clearly exhausted. By all accounts, he should withdraw from the duel.

If Xu Ziyang were to concede defeat, Jiang Yuebai would advance straight to the finals. This way, even if Yang Shenlong won his fourth duel, he would be the last to advance. That meant he would first have to face Chu Liang and then Jiang Yuebai, creating a situation where he would be trapped between Chu Liang and Jiang Yuebai.

This situation was highly advantageous for the Mount Shu Sect. It was undoubtedly the overwhelming strength of their representative team that allowed them to defeat powerful opponents and secure this advantage.

However, just as everyone was waiting for Xu Ziyang to concede defeat… he straightened his bloody back.

Filled with an intense fighting spirit, he looked Jiang Yuebai in the eye and said, "I wish to fight."

Huh? The spectators watching were stunned by his decision. Is he going to engage in an internal fight, giving up the Mount Shu Sect's advantage of having three members in the fourth round?

As Wang Xuanling watched his disciple, he let out a quiet sigh.

From a strategic standpoint for the Mount Shu Sect, it would certainly have been better for Xu Ziyang to concede defeat. Nevertheless, on a personal level, the Assembly of Immortal Sects was a once-in-a-lifetime stage. Wang Xuanling didn't wish for his disciple to hastily leave the stage in such a manner either.

Furthermore, Xu Ziyang and Jiang Yuebai had never dueled each other before. Xu Ziyang had just experienced several bloody battles in a row. Despite getting injured, he emerged tempered and with a soaring fighting spirit. It wasn't for certain that he would lose.

This decision was a critical turning point for Xu Ziyang. Regardless of the outcome, he needed this duel to satisfy his Dao heart. If Xu Ziyang were to voluntarily leave the competition now, his future progress might be limited by mediocrity.

Yet, as the grand peak master of the Mount Shu Sect, Wang Xuanling couldn't wholeheartedly support Xu Ziyang's decision. He fell into a deep silence.

Di Nufeng, on the other hand, furrowed her brows at the puzzled murmurs around her. "What's so strange about this? Isn't it just a fight?"

As the one being challenged, Jiang Yuebai showed no displeasure. Instead, she smiled, commending Xu Ziyang's decision.

The twin pillars of the Mount Shu Sect had been admired by many even before the Mount Shu Summit, but they had never been given the chance to fight each other. Now, they were finally about to have their long-awaited duel.

Jiang Yuebai cupped her hands together respectfully. "Then, please enlighten me, Senior Brother Xu."

1. This was first mentioned in chapter 538. Li Guanlong accidentally swallowed an ancient Curse Insect of Dreams when he was young. The insect had been sealed for countless years, so that's probably why the author called it “expired”. ☜

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: LD